Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 8
EFFECTS OF FERTILIZER AND PLANT
DENSITY ON YIELD AND QUALITY
OF ANISE (
PIMPINELLA ANISUM
L.)
MAHDI FARAVANI, BEHJAT SALARI, MOSTAFA HEIDARI,
MOHAMMAD TAGHI KASHKI,
AND
BARAT ALI GHOLAMI
8.1 INTRODUCTION
Anise (
Pimpinella anisum
L.) is one of the most important annual medici-
nal plants from Apiaceae family in the world. It is a dainty, white-flowered
plant, about 44 cm high, native of Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Crete and
Asia Minor. Its active substances are used in various pharmaceutical and
food industries (Nabizadeh et al., 2012). It is widely distributed and main-
ly cultivated for the seeds. The seeds of anise contain an essential oil (1
to 4%) and active substances like anethole used in various pharmaceutical
and food industries (Klaus et al., 2009). It is a folkloric remedy for sei-
zures in traditional medicine (Pourgholami et al., 1999; Staub, 2008; Özel,
2009; Aćimović, 2013).
Fertilizers have played an effective role in increasing crop yield, and
the indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers can cause environmental and
